Arnold Wants $1 Billion For Road Tolls?

A bit more complex than the headline, but bottom-line - high gas prices mean less pollution and less collected in road tolls in California. But the problem seems worse than that and now they want their bail-out (loan guarantee) for a road system that was never going to need a dime of taxpayer money when constructed.

Plan on visiting CA? You might as well, since you'll be helping to keep the roads in shape under this plan.

As the federal government undertakes the largest financial bailout in history, Orange County's toll road agency is asking for its own hefty government handout.

The agency is seeking a $1.1-billion loan of taxpayer money to shore up the finances of its network of turnpikes. The reason? As gas prices gyrate and the economy flounders, drivers -- and the revenue they bring -- have been deserting the toll roads.

The Transportation Corridor Agencies is seeking to merge its two distinct arms -- separate agencies that oversee different roads but share a single staff. The government loan, the largest of its kind, would help refinance the agencies' $4.6 billion in existing debt.

Critics condemn the effort, saying that the agency is reneging on a promise to never use public money for its highways. They also contend that the loan would divert scarce federal funds away from new transportation projects nationwide.

Comments

[seekeronos]

Obama's Tax "relief" = welfare

The numbers: 180,000,000 working adult Americans (taxpayers)

Of these, 47,000,000 do not pay taxes (i.e. they receive refunds greater than or equal to payroll taxes, not incl. FICA/Medicaid/etc.)

The expected tax revenue from the supposed "5%" people making over 250K/year = $140B

0.05 x 180,000,000 = 9,000,000

$140,000,000,000 in tax hikes borne by 9,000,000 = $15,550 per person making $250k /year in new taxes (averaged, no regarding any new tax brackets upward from the initial $250k lower limit)

This wealth redistributed to the 95% of working Americans...

$140,000,000,000 / 171,000,000 workers = $818.71 tax savings per worker under 250K per year.

To sum up: Small business owners and professionals and people with means to provide jobs and services and otherwise drive the economy are ROBBED of about $15,550...

... and Obama Hood and his 500+ merry liberal gangsters in the DemCong fork out a paltry $800 to the new peon class.

Meanwhile, inflation will drive gas up to $6/gal., milk up to $8/gal. and bread up to $10/loaf.

Welcome to the brave new world of America as a third world communist nation... I never thought I'd see this in my lifetime, but thus it is for a nation that has rejected God:

He will judge us by leaving us to our own national folly of electing the first President to the left of Stalin.

[mary]

I heard something on the financial channel to the effect that the terms for states when thy ask for help aren't really good. The talking head asked if the banks had better terms and the response was something akin to "hell yea" and then they haven't discussed it since.

[seekeronos]

Sorry for the OT item... but it might be worth the read:

Here's Peter Schiff with his "modest proposal" for the mortgage situation.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20081010/news_lz1e10schiff.html

[DAve]

Who is Joe the plumber?

MOST OF US HERE ARE.

I put a sign on my lawn that says "I am Joe the Plumber too!!!"

Cuz anyone who works and knows what's gonna happen to the money they earn should the one take the throne is Joe the Plumber too.
Stupid. Obama plans 1 trillion in new spending and a bunch of tax cuts/credits and is somehow gonna pay for it all by raising taxes on only 5% of the earners? I don't have to be president of the math club to know that it isn't even possible. He'll promise ANYTHING to the people who are so obcessed with believing it...
Then last night I realized that in many ways our choice this November is between a John McCain America or a Jane Fonda America. I wish Mc Cain realized and acted appropriately as a result.
Your math is wrong because it presupposes some integrity in Obama's promises. If elected he'll all of a sudden "discover" that ("due to the economy" no doubt) revenue generation ("taxes") must be increased in both number of payers and the amount they pay.

[seekeronos]

"--- Your math is wrong because it presupposes some integrity in Obama's promises. ---"

Indeed, I was just taking the man at his word... which is in no way trustworthy.

In fact, I fully expect him to press toward a far more radical tax agenda, upwards of the old Eisenhower era 90% top marginal tax rates (of course, to be written in permanently w/o hope of a repeal.)

And if we get the Liberal Axis of Evil - Obama-Pelosi-Reid... the evil that they wreak upon us will make the worst bits of Hoover, FDR, LBJ, and Carter look like they were the most rapacious free-market laissez faire administrations by comparison.

The WSJ c/o Memorandum has a bigger skinny on what the Liberal Trifecta would do to us:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122420205889842989.html

[Mark_0454]

If California needs money there is a soluton. Drill for oil. It will put people to work and add money to the State coffers. I also bet it wouldn't take ten years, which would at least show that nonsense to be a lie.

[dm60462]

Meanwhile, soon-to-be-indicted IL Governor (Friend of Rezko) Blagojavich HEARTS California toll roads so much that he has propsed to limit one lane of our overcrowded IL toll roads to hybrid vehicles, and likes the idea that drivers of ordinary vehicles could use it for an extra fee ala CA's "Lexus Lanes". What a flippin moron! The last IL Governor had similar brilliant ideas (he pardoned all Death Row inmates en masse) before being sentanced to federal prison. It's a barometer of IL Gubinatorial politics. The minute the Governor starts in with crazy legislation, you know he's to going to prison (and we've had a LOT of them do that here) soon.